Edward Jones Broker Kenneth Cargill Has Customer Complaint

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Kenneth Cargill (Cargill), previously associated with Edward Jones, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Cargill recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint on December 10, 2024.

Customer alleges the Variable universal Life Insurance policy he purchased in April 2014 was originally understood to be self-sustaining well into his 90’s with an annual premium of $400, however he now understand that the policy may lapse earlier than expected.

Brokers must, under securities laws, act in their clients’ best interests and recommend only suitable investments. Moreover, the SEC has introduced “Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI),” which, according to the SEC, elevates the brokerdealer standard of conduct beyond current suitability obligations and mandates that brokerdealers act in the best interest of retail customers when recommending any securities transaction or investment strategy related to securities. Regulation Best Interest and the fiduciary standard for investment advisers are drawn from key fiduciary principles that include an obligation to act in the retail investor’s best interest and not to place their own interests ahead of the investor’s interest.

Brokers are obligated to obtain and analyze enough information about a retail investor to reasonably conclude that their account recommendations are in the investor’s best interest. Recommendations cannot be based on materially inaccurate or incomplete information. Data on the investor and the expense of the advice are consistently part of material information. Types of costs that must be considered including account fees, commissions and transaction costs, tax considerations, as well as indirect costs.

In addition to obligation to understand the customer the broker must also investigate the product being sold. FINRA firms have an obligation to conduct a reasonable investigation of the issuer and the securities they recommend in offerings. A brokerage firm has a special relationship with a customer from the fact that in recommending the security, the broker represents to the customer that a reasonable investigation has been made. So, a brokerage firm should not depend solely on the issuer for data about a company instead of performing its own thorough review.

Another protective measure for investors is the requirement for brokers to disclose. Brokers are required to reveal important events, such as customer complaints, IRS tax liens, judgments, investigations, terminations, and even criminal matters, publicly on their BrokerCheck reports. FINRA has recognized that recent research shows past regulatory and customer complaint issues can indicate future problems for brokers. The Office of the Chief Economist (OCE) at FINRA conducted a study revealing that prior disciplinary and disclosure events may serve as indicators of future similar incidents. The OCE study showed that past disclosure events, including regulatory actions, customer arbitrations and litigations of brokers, have significant power to predict future investor harm. The data shows that where a member firm on-boards brokers with a significant history of misconduct there is a high likelihood that the broker will continue to engage in similar behavior.

Cargill has been in the securities industry for more than 14 years. Cargill has been registered as a Broker with Edward Jones since 2015.

Investors who have suffered losses are encouraged to contact us at (800) 810-4262 for consultation. At Gana Weinstein LLP, our attorneys are experienced representing investors who have suffered securities losses due to the mishandling of their accounts. Claims may be brought in securities arbitration before FINRA. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.

 

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